


Out of a Dream

by digitaldreams



Series: Fates Rewrite Project [6]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Angst, Character Study thing, Not Beta Read, based on the adrift banner, here's the shit about how azura and camilla know each other, little azura, thank you creative writing for making me write this, this goes with my au for fates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-26 03:21:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17738036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digitaldreams/pseuds/digitaldreams
Summary: Azura's life was nothing short of hell, and she wanted nothing more than for her dreams to become a reality. In the darkness of the royal court, her only option was delusion, but unfortunately, everyone must wake up from their happy mirages...





	Out of a Dream

I still remember the old days, back before all of this happened. 

I remember curling up in Camilla’s arms, letting her rock me to sleep each night when Mother was out. She was away a lot with Father when nighttime rolled around, but she always assured me that she liked me best. I was her favorite daughter in the whole world! Camilla was a nice substitute when she wasn’t with her own mother. Camilla treated me like I was the only one in the world who mattered to her. 

Camilla was always nice to me, unlike everybody else at the royal court. They always glared at me since I was high on the list of inheriting the throne of the kingdom. Every single one of the king’s mistresses and their children wanted to snag the crown for themselves, and since Mother was the queen at the time, I was left suffering because of it. Mother told me not to talk to anybody aside from Camilla and our older brother, Xander. Xander was nice too but being the next in line to be king after Father, he was busy a lot. 

Camilla wasn’t though! She’d come by each night to tuck me into bed. She’d tell me stories too! If I couldn’t sleep, she’d tell me about some of our other siblings, the one that I wasn’t allowed to see. She said that Leo, our little brother, was already growing up to be a fine young man. I wished I could meet him. Camilla would tell me each time that another mistress of Father’s had a child too. I lost count after a while, but I still appreciated the effort to be so nice to me. 

When Mother was around, she’d tell some stories about her old life too. She said we once had other family too, but now, we were stuck in Nohr. I hated it in Nohr. I just wanted to go somewhere else, somewhere far away from constant arguments, far away from Father, but Mother had to stay, so I did too. I was only ten, so I couldn’t exactly leave without her, even if I wanted to more than anything. 

Mother said she had a sister, a twin, to be specific. Her sister was just a few minutes younger than she was. My aunt had a baby too! The baby was about my age, but Mother never met the child. She told me she and her sister split up before she had the chance to. Mother said the name of the baby was Corrin. I wanted more than anything to meet Corrin and my aunt, but Mother said I couldn’t. I had a duty to Nohr, as she put it. I wished I didn’t have a duty though. 

The duty does nothing but get me in trouble. 

I’d dream regardless of duty when I could though. I would imagine a perfect family. There was my aunt, who Mother said had perfect dark brown hair. She was there, even if I didn’t know exactly what she looked like. I made up an appearance for her to fit in until I met her. Mother was there with Corrin. I imagined two different versions of Corrin, one that’s a boy, and one that’s a girl, since I didn’t know what Corrin’s gender was. Both of them were great to me. They treated me like a little sister! Technically, they were younger than I was, but I never really minded that. It was my dream, so I could imagine them however I wanted to. 

Camilla and Xander appeared in my perfect dream family too. Xander was tall and acted like a father to me, much more so than our actual father did. Camilla always fawned over me, making sure I was happy and able to talk to anyone comfortably. In both real life and in my dreams, Camilla was one of the nicest things about living there. 

However, I learned soon you must wake up from your dreams one day. 

In my dreams, I could ignore the harsh reality that came with living in the court. You see, because there were so many mistresses, none could say who would have a conclusive spot in taking the throne after my mother, Xander, and me. In order to move up the ranks, there would be fights. Bodies would turn up often. Murder was practically normal. Xander was the prime target, but he was able to defend himself since he could fight well enough to keep safe. 

Not everyone could. 

I remember coming back from dinner one night to see Mother hanging from the ceiling, a rope around her neck. It looked like a suicide, but I knew it couldn’t be. Mother wouldn’t leave me to suffer alone in here! Even if I had Camilla and sometimes Xander, I needed my mother if I wanted to stay alive!

Everything was fuzzy, but I remember all my hopes immediately dying. All my life, I had hoped that I’d be able to escape with her, to make my dream family come true, but I couldn’t do that if she was gone!

I cried soundlessly for hours afterwards. Nobody came by my room that night. Camilla even stayed away. I didn’t care. I was too caught up in my own grief to notice. 

My depressive episode lasted for months. I couldn’t think of anything other than the body. Even after it had been taken away and buried, I kept thinking of her. Mother was really gone. I had always known her to be an unstoppable and powerful woman, but she wasn’t invincible. She was just as vulnerable as everyone else, and now that she was gone, I was even more prone to attack than ever before. 

One night, shortly after I had fallen into a fitful sleep, Camilla came into my room. I couldn’t tell that it was her at first, but the second I felt her arms around me, I knew it was her. She pulled me in close and rocked me back and forth as she always had. “Azura,” she whispered into my ear before pressing a bag into my arms. 

I opened my mouth to ask her what the bag was for, but I didn’t get the chance to speak. Instead, she spoke over me. “There isn’t much time. You need to get out of here. Don’t ask any questions. Just go. You can’t stay here,” Camilla pressed.

“What’s going on?” I instinctively questioned, feeling myself begin to shake. 

“You know my mother, yes?” Camilla asked. 

I nodded. Of course, I knew her mother. Camilla’s mothers had been one of the first mistresses. She was also one of the darker ones, known for her murderous intentions. Camilla was different. Camilla was nice to people, even if her mother wasn’t. 

“My mother was the one who killed your mother. She knows you’re next in line for the throne after Xander since your mother was the queen before she died. She asked me to come here and kill you, but I can’t do that,” Camilla told me hurriedly. “I put together this bag for you. I need you to run away from here. There’s a villa about a week’s travel from here you can stay in. I’ll come back for you one day. Until then, stay there.”

Camilla pushed a kiss onto my forehead before opening up the window of my room. Luckily, it was on the bottom floor of the palace. She ushered me out and shut the door. It happened so quickly I didn’t have the chance to ask her about it. 

I just ran. 

There had been a map in the bag Camilla had given me. It led to the villa she had mentioned. I followed its instructions and got there as quickly as I could, living off the food that had also been in the bag. 

The villa was large, seeming even bigger since it was deserted. Nobody was there. I was all alone. There was enough food to last a few months since I was the only one living inside. I had all the space to myself, but I felt hollow despite how happy I was I was alive. I wanted my mother. I wanted Xander. I wanted Camilla. 

When you’re alone like that, there isn’t much to do. I did what I could. I survived off the food in the cabinets. I imagined my dream family more than ever. I pictured daily what it would be like when Camilla came back for me one day. I wanted her to come back. I missed her. 

Being all alone, I crafted my dream world once again. I created a world where fathers weren’t abusive cheaters, where mothers didn’t die, where sisters didn’t send you away, and where brothers weren't told to stay away most of the time. I made a family with an aunt and cousins and every other relative I could possibly imagine. It was perfect. They loved me. They treated me well when nobody else would. They thought only of me. I'd talk to them all the time. It was perfect. I was happy there. I wasn't at risk of dying. I had a family who loved me, even if they weren't physically there. All that mattered was that they were real enough to me. That was all I needed to keep myself sane. 

I don’t even know how long I was there, deluding myself in my own dreams. I do know that the first time I wasn’t legitimately alone, it was because a man had snuck into the villa. I was scared at first, but he wasn’t mean to me or anything. His hair was dark, but his expression was kind, if not solemn. He gestured for me to come closer. 

"How would you like to get away from here?” he asked me softly. 

I told him that I did. I didn’t want to be here any longer. I wanted to get out of here. My dreams could only take me so far. Camilla hadn’t come back for me. I was tired of being alone. My dreams could only do so much for me. I longed for the touch of another human, for someone to rock me to sleep and tell me it would be okay. My dreams meant nothing to real physical contact. I wouldn’t get that around here. I needed a family. I needed a home.

The man took me to another place. I didn’t know where it was, but I liked it. I didn’t need to imagine a family for myself to be happy. I had one. I had an adoptive mother and four siblings, two older and two younger. One of them even reminded me of Camilla. It was perfect for me. I had spent so many years dreaming of what would happen when I got a family of my own, and now, I finally did. It was perfect. 

For the first time ever, I was happy to live out of a dream. 

**Author's Note:**

> Here's another part of the Fire Emblem Fates Rewrite project. This one isn't necessary to understand the full plot, but it explains Azura and Camilla's link in a bit more detail. You'll get more on that later on, but here's the basic outline for it. 
> 
> I wrote this back when the Adrift banner came out on Fire Emblem Heroes. I liked the concept of it, so I incorporated it into a short story for my creative writing class. No regrets on this one. 
> 
> Feel free to check out the rest of the series if this one interested you. Until next time, I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> -Digital


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